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There exists in parts of southern and eastern Africa an apparently widespread belief in the existence of an invisible, internal “snake,” often described as a power or force of some kind that dwells in the stomach but that can move throughout the upper body. Although some anthropologists have described this snake as related to witchcraft, findings from diverse parts of Mozambique, South Africa and elsewhere suggest that it may (also) be thought of as a symbolic expression of the need to...

An accelerated electrification programme in South Africa began in 1991 increased the percentage of households having access to electricity to 50%. However, coal and wood continue to play an important role in the energy mix of low-income households and in rural areas and constitute a health risk. Recent pollution monitoring studies have shown that levels of total suspended particulates, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide in rural households vastly exceeded air quality guidelines, especially...

Abstract Stress, a condition of mental and physical exertion brought about as a result of harassing events or dissatisfying elements in the environment, has been found among teachers of science. If science teachers experience stressful conditions in their work, do students also experience stressful conditions in the learning of science, especially as studies showed that one of the sources of teachers’ stress is the students. The literature on science teachers’ stress is still scanty while...

There has been interest in the implications of learning by doing, and in particular in the possibility that learning by doing may be slower in less developed countries and in industries which use simpler technologies. This paper uses firm-level data from Ghana to estimate learning-by-doing effects and generates three main findings. First, the learning curve, though present, is flatter in Ghana than in developed countries. Second, any industry-wide spillovers are small and insignificant....

There has been interest in the implications of learning by doing, and in particular in the possibility that learning by doing may be slower in less developed countries and in industries which use simpler technologies. This paper uses firm-level data from Ghana to estimate learning-by-doing effects and generates three main findings. First, the learning curve, though present, is flatter in Ghana than in developed countries. Second, any industry-wide spillovers are small and insignificant....

In a comparative study of drug abuse in Urban versus Rural secondary schools, 952 students (547 Urban and 405 rural) were subjected to the WHO youth survey questionnaire. It was found that male students abused drugs more often than female students. Alcohol emerged as the most commonly abused drug (15% and 14% in urban and rural schools respectively). Tobacco, cannabis and inhalants followed in that order. The "hard' drugs were more commonly used in the rural schools.

Three hundred and ninety-six E. coli isolates obtained from apparently healthy school children in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, were tested for their susceptibility to 11 different antibiotics. Of these, only gentamicin, cefotaxime and nalidixic acid were found to have significant in vitro activity against most of the isolates. The incidence of antibiotic resistances encountered varied between 24% for trimethoprim and 55.5% for the sulphonamide. It was further observed that 47.5% of the isolates were...

there is a growing recognition that the majority of our first year students come from schools where the acquisition of the skills of academic writing and historical inquiry is hampered by Apartheid education. This has led teachers of history to seek imaginative ways to foster these skills through curricular development and methodological innovations such as the use of local history to establish empathy with historical subjects, debates between lecturers to introduce students to history as...

Contemporary theory and research have suggested that the family and the school are major institutions that contribute significantly in the development of children and adolescents. The present study thus examined the relationships between dimensions of family and school social environments and various aspects of adolescents' self-concepts. A total of 1192 secondary school students participated in the study. Results indicated that perceived parental behaviors were associated with relation,...

The single most important factor to improve the quality of education in a developing country appears to be increased general and professional education of teachers. Initially, it seems that this may be appropriately addressed in the teachers' colleges. However, the teacher educators themselves, often have received their own education either from the universities of developed countries or from “expert” expatriates at home. Often the result has been an adapted western curriculum being offered...

It is quite remarkable that so much is known about arithmetic in ancient Egypt. The major source of our knowledge is the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, circa 1600 B.C., named after A. Henry Rhind. Sir Henry purchased the papyrus in 1858 after it had been discovered in Thebes in the ruins of a small structure. No other document presents such extensive information about early Egyptian mathematics. The papyrus can be viewed in London at the British Museum, which received it as a legacy of the Rhind estate.

It is quite remarkable that so much is known about arithmetic in ancient Egypt. The major source of our knowledge is the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, circa 1600 B.C., named after A. Henry Rhind. Sir Henry purchased the papyrus in 1858 after it had been discovered in Thebes in the ruins of a small structure. No other document presents such extensive information about early Egyptian mathematics. The papyrus can be viewed in London at the British Museum, which received it as a legacy of the Rhind estate.

From 1972 to 1992, 170 patients with acute renal failure (87 M, 83 F; mean age 32.51 +/- SE 0.945) underwent hemodialysis at the renal unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra. Vascular access was established initially by arteriovenous shunt (133 cases), femoral venous cannulation (10 cases), and subclavian vein cannulation (27 cases). The overall mortality for acute renal failure (ARF) was 31.8% (54/170). The mortality for obstetric cases was 43.7% (14/32); for surgical cases, 33.3%...

Results of the chemical and isotopic analysis of the water and gases discharged from volcanic crater lakes and soda springs located along the Cameroon Volcanic Line were used to characterize and infer their genetic relationships. Variations in the solute compositions of the waters indicate the dominant influence of silicate hydrolysis. Na+ (40–95%) constitutes the major cation in the springs while Fe2+ + Mg2+ (70%) dominate in the CO2-rich lakes. The principal anion is HCO3 (>90%), except in...